Category: Indy Lights

The new 2015 IndyLights chassis, the Dallara-AER IL-15, debuted at Indianapolis earlier this year on Media Day, the Thursday before the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The car looks dead sexy, and the first running tests of the car at Putnam Park and at Mid-Ohio were very successful. The car appears to perform brilliantly and should be a great platform for the last step for young drivers on their way to the Verizon IndyCar Series. There’s only one problem. Cost. Sadly, it always comes down to money, doesn’t it? With every…

The Mid-Ohio IndyCar weekend is a special one to many of us here at OpenPaddock.net. Ok, two of us: Mr. Whitesell and myself. While we do enjoy the IndyCar action throughout the weekend, one of the true joys of the event is the variety and quantity of racing one gets to enjoy. The Mazda Road to Indy was fully represented with Indy Lights and Pro Mazda holding double-headers and USF2000 holding a triple-header. The multiple points-paying races meant that the championship standings could change dramatically, and there were indeed some…

Wow. That took a while! I bought some larger cards and felt like I needed to fill them all. Ugh. I finally sorted through and edited all the open-wheel photos and have them posted below. I also have a ton of sports car photos that I’ve sorted, but haven’t finished editing. I’ll have those later along with recaps of the Mazda Road to Indy races and championships and of the Pirelli World Challenge races. You’ve heard Mr. Whitesell and I mention this on the podcast, and I’ll say it here…

It’s Mid-Ohio Weekend!!! Next to Indianapolis, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is my favourite track to visit. The IndyCar weekend is filled with activity and the circuit is never quite. Between the IndyCar Series, the Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, USF2000, and the SCCA Pro Pirelli World Challenge, there’s always someone circulating and there’s a variety of racing machines to enjoy. One of the biggest battles during the weekend will be the fight for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires 2014 Championship. Belardi Auto Racing’s Gabby Chaves and Andretti Autosport’s…

Tom and Brenda Turk of Piratical Photography were at the Pocono Raceway this past weekend to photograph the IndyCar and IndyLights races. We have been honored to have them offer their services to OpenPaddock.net, and we hope you enjoy their images as much as we do. Pocono IndyCar 500 IndyLights Pocono 100

Andretti Autosport’s Zach Veach and Belardi Auto Racing’s Gabby Chaves were tied for the lead of the IndyLights Presented by Cooper Tires 2014 Championship as the series headed to Pocono Raceway for their second oval race of the year. With six races left after Pocono, the outcome of last Saturday’s race wasn’t necessarily going to make or break Veach’s or Chaves’ chances at the title, but it would yield an advantage to the race winner, and a potentially large advantage if either driver had an incident. Schmidt Peterson Motorsport’s duo…

The 12th running of the Indy Lights Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway took place yesterday on Carburetion Day, and the 100-mile, 40-lap sprint was the magnificent race that I’ve been raving about for years. As we came into the Month of May and started with the Indianapolis Grand Prix, Andretti Autosport’s Zach Veach and Belardi Auto Racing’s Gabby Chaves were leading the championship having split the victories in the first four events. The grand prix weekend didn’t go as planned for either of the two drivers, as they…

Media Day is a pretty dead day at the Speedway from a fan attendance standpoint. There were some people there, but not many. For that matter, there weren’t many media folk there either! It’s unfortunate, because the Indy Lights drivers had a great practice and a fun and exciting qualifying session. In addition to the three hours of practice and the qualification session, the new 2015 Indy Lights chassis, the Dallara Automobili IL-15 was unveiled. It was a great day of preparation for today’s Freedom 100. Press releases are below…

Last year we were treated to the most spectacular finish in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the Indy Lights drivers Carlos Munoz, Gabby Chavez, Sage Karam, and Peter Dempsey ran four-wide down the front stretch and across the yard of bricks. Every year, I try to convince people that as much fun as the 500 is, and in recent years as good of as the racing has been, that the best racing action at the Speedway is really seen on Carburetion Day when the Indy Lights Series…

The Mazda Road to Indy has been a very successful program since it’s inception. We’ve certainly done our best to document that here at OpenPaddock.net and to follow the progress of many of the drivers that have come through the Road to Indy, but admittedly, we’re fans and a bit biased. There is objective evidence of the program’s success, and it can be seen in the list of the 33 drivers who will contest the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Although the formal program has only been…